Nonfiction,  Novels

Summer Reading

Most of my reading this summer has consisted of rereading — the lion’s share of it on my Kindle. I may have forgotten something, but here’s what I remember of what I’ve read since my last post:

I revisited Gary Schmidt’s Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now and still like the latter book best of any I’ve read by Schmidt. I also read a newer book of his called Pay Attention, Carter Jones. It’s about a New England middle-schooler whose family suddenly find themselves with a butler from England. The story takes up themes Schmidt explores in other tales: soldiers and the effects of military service, middle school social angst, family tensions, to name a few — all told from the perspective of a young male character. The tale fell flat for me; Schmidt failed to distract me from my skepticism over the improbability of the whole situation, and the different strands of the story (one prominent one being the game of Cricket — ???), never really came together to support its more heartwarming features.

I also revisited Elizabeth Goudge’s trilogy: The Bird in the Tree, Pilgrim’s Inn, and The Heart of the Family. The links are to my reviews of the books, and my reactions this time were similar. I think the last time I read the books, I wasn’t as struck by the theme of how marital faithfulness and commitment are ongoing projects, forged through active choice. What I appreciated most, as always, was Goudge’s evocation of enchanted places and times. These books are not fantasies, and the enchantment doesn’t take the form of fairies and wizards; it comes from the fullness of the sense of place, and of history permeating and enriching the settings of the novels. In such troubled times that perpetually draw our minds to uncertainty and worry, Elizabeth Goudge is a wonderful antidote because she takes us into contemplation of things that have lasted. I don’t see Goudge as completely orthodox in her Christianity, but her books are nevertheless spiritually nourishing.

Speaking of fairies, I also revisited the truly incomparable Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (for at least the third time). Such a smart, fully developed, witty book! I debated watching the BBC series made of the story, but after viewing a trailer I decided against it; the tone and characters appear totally different than the way I picture them, and I prefer to retain my version. The book was another effective imaginative escape, and I made it last as long as I could.

The only “new to me” read has been Dallas Willard’s Life without Lack, a meditation/teaching on Psalm 23 that was published posthumously. I suppose it attracted me partly because Psalm 23 was on my mind already; early in the quarantine on a trip to the badly picked-over grocery store, I remember deliberately choosing not to buy things I knew I already had “to stock up just in case,” and the phrase that played in my mind was, “The Lord is my shepherd — I shall not want.” This book develops the absolute sufficiency of God and discusses in very practical ways how to cultivate accurate understanding of his character, and habits of mind that maintain awareness of him.

In that sense it picked up on a theme of another reread that I haven’t yet completed: Letters by a Modern Mystic, by Frank Laubach. I read it several years ago but apparently did not review it here. It’s a collection of letters by a missionary who decided he wanted to make it his aim to think of God literally every minute of every day. It sounded exhausting when I first read it, and it it still does, a bit. But it also remains an inspiring idea to me. It’s a tiny book, but it’s taking me a long time to reread. I approach it warily, with some degree of angst. Willard’s book is a gentler, gracious approach to a similar idea, and I like it well enough that I’m rereading it now with my daughters.

Other books that I’ve picked up and may or may not finish include Clive Thompson’s Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World and David Hutchings’s God, Stephen Hawking and the Multiverse. (I pick up books like this because I want to be smart and scientific, but the truth is most of it deflects off my impervious, right-brained, book-geek surface.)

I’m thankful for books. As long as they’re around, we’re never truly isolated.

5 Comments

  • Ruth

    Amen to your conclusion! It’s been years since I’ve read Elizabeth Goudge, and she really would be perfect right now. And I love your reflection on Psalm 23. A long time ago I read that Gary Schmidt was going to write a third book to go with Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. It was going to focus on Meryl Lee. I have been waiting impatiently for it ever since.

    • Janet

      I hope it comes! There’s a Swieteck in ‘Pay Attention Carter Jones,’ but I couldn’t tell what if any connection there was to those past books.

  • Ruth

    Should have searched first – I see you have read it and I’m sure I had already seen your review – probably even commented on it. Sorry!